TAMPA – Less than a week after his 21st birthday, Jasson Dominguez started his throwing program last Monday and is expected to start swinging next week.
And while he is itching to return to the Yankees from Tommy John surgery “as quick as possible,” that won’t happen before he checks all the boxes in his rehab process.
“I’m just [being] patient,” Dominguez said Tuesday morning at Steinbrenner Field. “I don’t want to rush anything. But I want to be back, sure.”
While the Yankees have projected a summer return for Dominguez, who underwent elbow surgery in September, it remains to be seen whether that means immediately going to The Bronx or getting some more seasoning at Triple-A.
It may well depend on the health and production of their starting outfield of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, plus DH Giancarlo Stanton.
But Dominguez teased his potential last September before his torn UCL was revealed.
The center fielder homered in his first career at-bat, against Justin Verlander, and crushed four home runs in eight games with a .980 OPS.
“I know I can play here, but I also know there’s a lot of work to do,” Dominguez said. “I got a lot of things I gotta learn. Sure I had a great start, but I just know in my mind I have a lot of things to learn.”
For now, Dominguez is throwing at 60 feet, continuing his daily rehab step by step while the rest of the clubhouse begins to gear up for the season.
But in the meantime, he is looking forward to being around his new teammate, Juan Soto.
“It’s gonna be amazing,” Dominguez said. “To be able to be close to him and learn from him, it’s gonna be good for me.”